Costa worker with extreme skin condition hits back at ‘nasty’ customers who say they’ll ‘catch it’ if she serves them
A COSTA Coffee barista claims ‘nasty’ customers have suggested she shouldn’t even work there for fear they could ‘catch’ her extreme skin condition.
Zoe Moorhouse has suffered from guttate psoriasis since she was a baby – experiencing her first flare-up at just seven years old.
Guttate psoriasis is a skin condition that can appear without warning, usually following an infection like strep throat.
It causes small, drop-shaped sores to appear on the chest, arms, legs and scalp.
After battling Covid and a throat infection last February, the 28-year-old said she was hit with the worst psoriasis flare up of her life.
Photos show Zoe’s back, torso, arms and legs covered in painful red spots – which remained on her skin for more than four months.
The mum-of-two, who lives in North Shields, Tyne and Wear, said the skin condition left her sobbing every day and writhing in pain.
Shockingly, Zoe said strangers would question whether they could ‘catch’ her psoriasis – with customers at work even pointing at her spots and asking if she should be working at the high street chain.
It has left her so self-conscious that she felt embarrassed going into work.
Some strangers have even brought her kids into it, with one commenting that her “children must be scared” to hug her.
The 28-year-old, who is mum to Lily, seven, and Hollie, two, said: “It’s the worst outbreak I’ve ever had.
“I used to get a lot of comments at work. Once I was making a coffee and a guy leaned over the table and prodded my arm and asked, ‘What’s that?’.
“I said, ‘it’s a skin condition’, and he said, ‘well should you be working?’
“I had another comment from a woman at a bus stop. It was a nice day and I had taken my coat off and I was standing with my children and she said, ‘Your children must be scared to hug you’.
“I said, ‘What do you mean?’, and she said, ‘Well look at you’. It was pretty bad on my arms.
“I had another guy ask me if I was a burns victim while waiting in the queue at Greggs.
“Someone asked if it was flea bites when it was round my ankles. And a lot of customers would ask me if it was contagious.
“I don’t mind talking about it, it’s just the nasty comments saying, ‘I shouldn’t be working’ and ‘can we catch it’.
“If you’ve got nothing nice to say then just don’t say it.”
Despite struggling with self-image due to her psoriasis, Zoe said she has now accepted the skin condition as a part of who she is.
Zoe said: “I try very hard not to feel self-conscious. I don’t let comments from people stop me from taking my daughter swimming on holiday. I just get on with it.
“After I saw the picture of my back, I just sobbed. It really upset me.
“I didn’t want to go to work, my back was so itchy, it was painful.
“It’s something I’ve had a long time so if I have a flare up, I just deal with it but the first month or two when it was getting worse and worse I looked in the mirror and just thought I’m disgusting.
“The thing that helped me get through it was that I just accepted it as part of me.
“My daughter would always say you’re beautiful and I had a great support network around me.
“A lot of people haven’t heard of it.
“I don’t mind people being nice and asking questions, it’s the nasty comments. Just be nice to people.”
What is psoriasis?
There are a few different types of psoriasis, a skin condition that causes dry or scaly patches of skin.
Some people also experience itching or soreness.
Psoriasis affects around two in 100 people in the UK. It can start at any age, but most often develops in adults between the ages of 20 and 30 or between 50 and 60 years old.
It’s thought to be related to problems with the immune system and can run in families.
Possible triggers of psoriasis include an injury to your skin, throat infections and using certain medicines.
The condition is not contagious, so it can’t be spread from person to person.
Most cases of psoriasis go through cycles, causing problems for a few weeks or months before easing or stopping. The most common types include:
- Plaque psoriasis – characterised by dry skin lesions, known as plaques, covered in scales that tend to appear on the elbows, knees, scalp and lower back
- Scalp psoriasis – it can occur on parts of the scalp or all of it, causing patches of dry skin covered in thick scales
- Nail psoriasis – it can cause your nails to develop tiny dents or pits, become discoloured or grow abnormally
- Guttate psoriasis – it causes small drop-shaped sores on your chest, arms, legs and scalp, which can sometimes develop into plaque psoriasis
- Inverse psoriasis – this affects folds or creases in your skin, such as the armpits, groin, between the buttocks and under the breasts
The NHS advises you see a GP if you think you have psoriasis.
Source: NHS